printer connection to wireless network

[KISZOMBI]

I have a 6978 which is connected to my wireless network. seemingly. because when I look at it through the Mac, it doesn't show up unless I use ethernet cable. tried all the basic stuff such as restart everything, unplug everything or reinstall. as soon as I would like to add a printer to my computer, it does not appear. can not even add it manually. in the meanwhile shows on the printer screen, that it is connected. the internet provider doesn't help with printers.

[Jay_G24]

Hi @KISZOMBI,

I'd like to help!

Let's try the below steps to see if that helps -

1.) Remove All Barriers: Certain building materials can get in the way of weaker signals like Bluetooth. Metal, bulletproof glass, concrete, and plaster are particularly bad, and marble, plaster and brick aren’t great easy. So if you’re really struggling with interference, your first step should be to move your Bluetooth devices away from these materials. That means no brick walls between you and your devices, and definitely no metal desks!

2.) Change Router Channel: If you have an Apple router and you’re constantly getting interference with your WiFi, try rebooting it. Upon restart, the station will search for a new channel. Specifically, a different channel than the one your Bluetooth devices is using to communicate. If you don’t have an Apple router, you may need to instead go into your router settings and try changing the channel manually. Experiment with different channels to see which one works best.

3.) Move Closer to Your Router: If you often find that you’re getting interference when talking on a wireless headset while on a WiFi call (you’ll know because you’ll hear static), try moving closer to your router. This will give you a more robust WiFi connection, so the Bluetooth frequency can’t overpower it.

4.) Get Away From Microwaves and Fluorescent Lighting: Both emit frequencies of 2.4GHz, and moving away from them will distance you from the source.

I'd like to know the following to isolate the issue further-

1.) Are the printer and Mac connected to the same network?

2.) Is your router dual-band enabled i.e., both 2.4GHz and 5GHz? If yes, make sure the dual band has different SSIDs for 2.4G and 5G networks.

3.) What is the distance between the router and the printer?

4.) Is there an antivirus software installed on your Mac?

5.) Could you perform a ping test using the Mac Network Utility and let me know the results? Use the printer IP address to perform a ping test, the printer IP can be located by selecting the wireless icon on the printer display.

The wireless status menu on your Mac should also give us quite a lot of information that would help us identify the issue. You can press and hold option-click the WiFi icon and then use shift-command-5 to take the screenshot. Press the space bar when the icon turns into a camera. Share the ping test results and the screenshot with us.

Also, check with your Internet service provider if your router is able to forward 'Bonjour packets'.  Bonjour locates devices such as printers, other computers, and the services that those devices offer on a local network using multicast Domain Name System (mDNS) service records. The software comes built-in with Apple's macOS and iOS operating systems. 

Hope this helps! Keep me posted. 

And, Welcome to the HP Support Community. 

Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping

[KISZOMBI]

Thanks for your reply. 
I have done all the steps you’ve asked me to do prior to your email, and all the answers are negative. There is no ping at all. I have confirmed with the IP the question you had and it is all good I have to say that I use to have connections to the printer before but for some reason it is not possible now. 
I would conclude here with saying: I have moved the printer close enough to connect with Ethernet cable and works fine. 
I have to also say that this is my third HP printer and the last. All came down with the same “sickness “ after 1-2 years of very light service. ( I print possibly 20 pages per month)

again thanks for reaching out and Happy Thanksgiving! ( live in Canada)

[Jay_G24]

I respect your decision,

I'd like to verify if this a wireless radio issue on the printer.

please share an image of the wireless test report.

From the printer control panel,

1.touch or swipe down the tab at the top of the screen to open the Dashboard, touch ( Setup ).

2. Touch Reports .

3. Select a printer report to print.

Or you can reach the HP phone support team, who will be able to remote into your computer and help you identify and fix the issue for you.

Follow the instructions below to reach them:

1) Click on this link - https://support.hp.com/us-en/contact-hp

2) Select your product type below.

3) Enter the serial of your device. 

4) Select the country from the drop-down. 

5) Select the chat or get phone number options based on your preferences. 

6)Fill the web-form and proceed further.

If you are having trouble navigating through the above options, it's most likely because the device is out of warranty. If yes? please send me a private message with the region you are contacting us from. Check next to your profile name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it.  

Have a great day!